Stage name George
Reeves (1914- 1959), born George Brewer, later taking his
stepfather's name of Bessolo, played 'The Man of Steel'
in the Adventures of Superman
television series from 1953-1957

Controversy still surrounds the
circumstances of his death as to whether is was murder or suicide.

George
Reeves' Superman needed a little boost from an
old-fashioned "springboard" to become airborne.

For "sustained" flight shots,
Reeves stretched out on a table facing a fan (to animate
his cape) in front of a rear-projection screen.

In the color episodes they used a form fitted fiberglass piece attached to a boom arm rather like a large spatula and
Reeve's legs were fastened to the boom arm covering it. They rotoscoped
(traced) the protruding boom arm along the lines of his boots. If the holdout matte
(mask used to cover an element in a frame of film) wasn't in sync with the burn-in passes
(added composite elements), it created a black ghost of the cape in nearly every shot.

For more information on the evolution of this type of
special effects process, click
here. Special thanks also to "optical guy" for his
invaluable help in explaining the process.

George
Reeves rarely received credit for his charming portrayal
of Clark Kent, Superman's mild-mannered alter ego. This
was no "Casper Milquetoast" depiction. This
Clark had a good sense of humor, could hold his own
against Lois, liked to tease, and could also be quite
bold.

When Perry wouldn't see him for
a job interview, Clark stepped out onto the ledge of the
Daily Planet building and then hopped into Perry's
office.

This take on Clark Kent had a lot more
in common with Dean Cain's depiction in the 90s than it did with the
socially challenged version portrayed by Christopher Reeve in the 70s.

The Supporting Cast

John
Hamilton played Perry ("Don't call me chief!")
White, Phyllis Coates only played Lois Lane the first
season. She made a cameo appearance as Lois Lane's mother
on Lois and Clark The New Adventures
of Superman. She played the hard-as-nails Lois Lane, more
likely to react with anger than fear when placed in jeopardy. However,
Coates received an offer for another show and so left the Superman
cast.

Robert Shayne played Inspector
Henderson, often working alongside Superman solving crime
in Metropolis. Jack Larson played Jimmy ("Golly, Mr.
Kent") Olsen, and Noel Neill, who played Lois Lane
in the Kirk Alyn serial, reprised the role here, but as
the "kinder, gentler" Lois Lane.

One
episode was sponsored by the Treasury Department to
promote the use of savings stamps and bonds at schools.
It's the only episode where a villain admitted he was
robbing a jewelry store because he was never good at
saving or handling money!